Current uses for oyster shells in commercial industries are limited. The state of Florida has passed an act that 50% of all commercially harvested shells must be given to the state government for use in reef reconstruction. Other common uses involve using crushed shells (various types not only oyster shells) as driveway pavement material.
For construction purposes, oysters are a viable option because they are easy to acquire and contain high amounts of CaCO3 in the shell’s nacre. Nacre, which is commonly called “the mother of pearl”, is combined of platelets of CaCO3 within layers of an organic polymer matrix. The combination of the platelets and organic matrix provides the strength of the shell (Kakisawa, H., & Sumitomo, T. 2012). The shells are readily available, easily cleaned by a combination of scrubbing and bleach, and can be crushed to our size requirements on site.